5%
That’s what I think the difference was – 5% of quality. Both
sides were guilty of losing the ball in the middle, but when our midfielder
(not naming and shaming) blind passed the ball to the opposition on 17 minutes,
it was that extra 5% that allowed him to run on and smash the ball past Jalal
for the only goal of the game. When we pounced on mistakes, we just couldn’t
make the same impact
I’ve been on Jalal’s back in the past and if I was in a
similar mood now, I could point to the ball not going anywhere near the corner,
but today, proud as I am of the team, I shall just say that it was the raw
power of the shot that left him helpless.
Proud I say, because Bournemouth really took the game to Wigan and had long periods of the game camped in the opposition half but just unable to break through.
If I was playing devil’s advocate, I would say that what we
need to do more is improve movement up front when we bring the ball up from the
back. I lost count of the times someone from the back/midfield would beat his
man and rampage forward. As he ran, he would start to look for someone to
offload the ball to, but no-one moved. So on he would run, and run and run,
until he eventually lost the ball – so frustrating.
If only we could learn to make the same runs as we do down
both left and right flanks (McQuiod apart) – we seem at ease there to know to
run into space after giving the ball so that we can put a cross in.
In the past (again) I have slated the quality of cross,
which seems to not match the level of play that got to the place from which the
ball was crossed. Today, though, I think I’ve been looking at it the wrong way.
Such was our dominance going forward down both left and right wings – I was
forced to consider again why these crosses don’t result in more goals
Simple, there’s either no-one in the middle to put the ball
away, or there’s one person that doesn’t make a run to meet the ball. When you
look at our goals tally, they are nearly all shots. Not since Charlie D banged in a header many
games ago can I remember a cross being met with such success – I think this
perhaps is what is holding us back from being great, instead of just good.
Tonight, however, we were as close to great as we could be.
With Hughes running the show in the middle we attacked down the wings again and
again and our harrying was first class.
Just such harrying from Thomas and O’Kane had Thomas strip
the ball off their defender and run forward. He slipped the ball to O’Kane who
hit it just outside the box with the outstep of his foot and sent it swinging
to crash against the corner of bar and post with the keeper stranded. It would
have been a deserved equaliser for the home team, who didn’t let their heads
drop despite being one down
The second half just felt wrong shooting the other way, but
the crowd tried its best to lift the players. It was to be another half of
Bournemouth attack and Wigan counter but Martinez had a stroke of luck. An
injury to their keeper meant a second half for the first teamer, without which
Bournemouth would surely have scored.
A bombardment of crosses and shots rained into the Wigan
penalty area but each time the ball seemed to fall to a Wigan player – is it
their ability to read the game, or just that they were getting the run of the
ball – I’d prefer it to be the former – the latter just sounds bitter
Arter was the first to really rue the keeper change as his
shot was heading into the top right corner before the keeper skilfully tipped the
ball round the corner
On 85 minutes Pugh’s left foot volley was tipped onto the
bar but the icing on the cake was the 93rd minute save from Tubbs’
free-kick that he curled over the wall. No way was the first keeper saving
that.
Sure, in the 88th minute, Dicko lived up to his
name and missed a sitter from a counter attack from the left, but this would
have flattered the visitors even more that it already did.
Summary – I thought a draw in Wigan was a deserved result
but today I thought we deserved to win. In some ways I’m glad the unbeaten run
is over (a pressure just not needed) and that it hasn’t affected out main aim –
getting promotion. Let’s please not do a Huddersfield and start inventing ways
in which we are still unbeaten
Star Player – Hughes – Rolled back the years and was
majestic in the middle
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